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Friday, September 11, 2009

Always Remember Never ForgetI will always remember this day... I will always remember this day so perfectly in my head; like it was just yesterday!! This picture was taken 3 days prior(which happens to be Brian's Birthday) from my friend who was up in a helicopter watching a boat race. It is so eerie to see - knowing now that the building would be gone in 3 days!

I decided to go into work early that day! I took the 6:50 Express train to the city and arrived at Penn Station in about an hour! I got off of the train and picked up a strawberry scone and carton of OJ for breakfast... ( I was single at the time and much younger) So, when I saw 3 HOT firefighters outside I felt compelled to spark up conversation. We chatted for a minute while I waited for a cab.. i was lazy that day and didn't feel like walking.. Then they got a call and said they had to go.. Little did I know that those firefighters were being called to the World Trade Center because a plane crashed through one of the towers..I decided to give my mom an early morning phone call just to say hello. She was watching the news.. We talked for a few minutes and then I had to go! She was watching the news and mentioned something about a plane crash in city. After we hung up the phone she said she tried calling me back, but the phone line was busy for the rest of the day. She always says she wishes she told me to get back on the train(that's what she tried to call me back, she said she knew somwthing was wrong.)The girl infront of me, waiting for a cab, was stressed because she was late for a meeting at The Trade Center. Little did she know that her being late could have saved her life! There were no cabs in sight so I decided my lazy ass should start walking. I still can remember hearing all of the police and fire sirens as I walked the New York City streets and made my way to my building.So as I got to my building on Broadway, I took the elevator up to the 44th floor and when i got off I noticed the building was empty, more empty then usual. As I walked through the halls I came to the TV's and watched as the The Tower burned, smoke pouring out!I went to my bosses desk, wrote her a note staing I was in and that I was going to head back to Jersey. I had no idea what was going on - but I new it wasn't good.I headed down and out and I hoped in to a cab. The was one of the scariest parts of the day. As I rode alone to Penn Station the cab driver (of different descent) muttered under his breathe and laughed about how "we finally got them" how "we finally did it" how "we finally brought them down." He started speaking another language and began to chant - I started to cry and asked him to pull over.. I wanted out! I paid and got out of the cab and walked the rest of the way!I rushed into Penn Station with the rest of the crowd, found my train, boarded and then took a BIG sigh of relief - I was headed back home! I felt safe! Then, all of the lights went out and over the loud speaker a voice came on saying to Exit the train, to walk quietly, and exit Penn Station. I exited the train and saw Police Men and Bomb sniffing dogs everywhere.I am not a very trusting person - but for some reason during this chaotic mess i started to talk to this older gentleman that lived in Jersey. He was a lawyer in New York, also on the train with me trying to get home. Little did we know we'd be stuck in the city all day long. He took me under his wing(I was all alone in the city that day) - we sat on the street with thousands of other people and shared his walkman radio to listen to news updates. He even bought me lunch. At one point we decided to walk and as we made our way I will never forget this, he said "look" and pointed as we watched the tower collapse. We watched the smoke pour up onto all of the other buildings! I felt such sadness...I finally made it home on the 5:30 train and headed back to New Jersey.. I rode the whole way with the lawyer I spent the entire afternoon with until he got off at his stop. He is a man I will never forget. Like I mentioned I am not the most trusting person when it comes to strangers; but this man was incredible and really helped me out during this horrible day!I often think about 9/11 and those firefighters. I wonder if they made it out ok, I wonder if they were killed...I wonder about the lawyer - I wonder if he thinks of me on that day!Do you remember where you were on 9/11?

3 comments:

I am sitting here with tears in my eyes just reading your story. I'm sure he thinks of you too!!! The one good that came from this horrific event is that we all remembered what it means to be American and to him that meant helping you through the day and buying you lunch. God Bless him & God bless you for sharing such a touching story. XOXO

Such an interesting story. I was in Sydney and the streets were deserted, but whenever I walked past an electronics shop people were crowded around TVs. They warned people on the news that Sydney could be next, haha, when I was 15 I was oblivious to the fact that no one really minds Australia that much!

Wow. It amazes me so many people experienced 9/11 in NYC. My cousin was there, and we were so worried about her.

I'm so thankful you made it through that day unscathed! Thinking about what happened still makes me so sad and takes me back to my 11th grade pre-calculus class. The teacher had the news on when we walked in the classroom, and we watched the second plane hit the tower. And then watched them fall.